Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-07-28

their families in their homes and
: upon their farms. Very many
, cCme here to. attend church, to
mail and receive their letters and
papers, to employ physicians, to
attend to public business when
required. In addition to these
are such as reside within the cities
and depend wholly upon their
daily labor for the support of
themselves and theft families.
| These often reside in ore city and
work, in the other. All these
people are compelled to cross the
river several times day or a week,
as the case may be- In addition
also are those possessing means,
who have settled among us and
invested capital in business, man
ufacturing and mercantile. All
these people-the we'll to do and
poor aliRe-have settled among
us, cast their fortunes with US, re
lying, as they had right to do,
that they would not be shut off
from their markets. their churches,
their post-offices, and county seat,
either by the erection of a toll
gate upon the bridge over which
they must pass to reach them, or
by allowing the bridge to rot down.
1t would be most unjust to allow
them to be so shut off. It would
impose severe burdens, most often
upon those least able to bear
them. 1t would be violation of
the county's pledge to them made
as an inducement to settle among
us. 1t would impose a tax upon
them, not for personally crossing
the bridge merely, but upon every
yard of clothing, every pound of
neCessaries they buy, as we'll as
upon every load of produce or
surplus they sell. And while the
burden would fall heaviest upon
the classes just treferred to, every
citizen of the county would feel
it in greater or less degree. All
have business at the county seat
sometimes, or are liable to have.
All have a decent pride in the
good name of their county, and
its county seat. 1t would be a
just reproach upon the whole
county to have it truthfully said
that its court house and county
records cannot be reached by
+ three fourths of its own people
except they swim the river or pay
a toll at the city limits for the
privilege. Especially is this true
when the fact is recalled that very
many of them settled among us
with assurance unqualihedly given
in behalf of the public that no
such conditions should be suffered
to exist And what reason is or
can be assigned for favoring such
a policy, if it were practicable?
Simply and only that other por-
tions of the county should not be
taxed to maintain a bridge in
Centralia and Grand Rapids:
Under ordinary circumstances this
might be true. But the facts of
the present case are exceptional;
as has been fully shown, Under
such exceptional circumstances it
is but just that the county shall
maintain the bridge in question.
1t ought not to shirk or shift such
responsibility if it could The
expense upon the county is tfif-
ing, and growing less for each tax
payer every year, because the
value of taxable property is vastly
on the increase. At the present
time 25 cents per year upon every
actual thousand dollars in taxable
property is a fair estimate of it's
average cost, including the cost
of rebuilding once in twelve or
fifteen years And as already
said, this amount is annually de
creasing. What becomes, then,
of the pretense that the bridge is
6Wden 70 those who derive no
benefit from it? It would be a
burden, serious and oppressive, to
a small community with a limited
amount of taxable property It
would be a grievous and ruinous
burden to the poor people who
comprise the vast majority of
those who use it most. TO the
county at large it is and will be
no burden that even the poorest
tax payer will realize, if not urged
70 do so. It is frankly admitted
that those residing near the bridge
are benefited by it in greater
degree in proportion to what it
costs them than are those located
: farther away. But this is always
true of every public improvement.
!; It cannot, in the nature of things,
be wholly avoided; but no one
will argue therefrom that all pub
lie improvements should be aban-
doned.